Understanding Grandfamilies: Characteristics of Grandparents,Nonresident Parents,and Children

Using data from the Year 9 Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N ～ 3,182), we investigated the characteristics grandfamilies (grandparents raising their grandchildren with no parent present, N = 84) and compared them to other key groups, including children's nonresident parents and other economically disadvantaged families with children. Results show that grandparents raising their grandchildren were generally better off in terms of educational attainment, marital status, and economic well‐being than the child's parents. Grandparents raising their grandchildren also had characteristics very similar to other disadvantaged mothers. Academic and socioemotional well‐being were poorer among children in grandfamilies compared with those living with their mothers, but parenting practices were very similar. These findings suggest that although children in grandfamilies may be at a disadvantage academically and socioemotionally, grandparent caregivers are in many ways similar to other fragile‐family mothers. Overall, this study enhances our knowledge of an important yet understudied family type.     

Gay,Lesbian, Bisexual,and Transgendered People and Chemical Dependency: Exploring Successful Treatment

This exploratory and quantitative study presents a model of treatment success of the nation's oldest and largest chemical dependency treatment provider for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) population. The main purpose is to examine the potential ability of the predictor variables’ degree of affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the severity of chemical use, the strength of a higher power relationship, attitudes about sexual orientation, and length of time in treatment to predict length of time clean and sober.

The proposed model demonstrated the ability to explain 29% of the variance in time clean and sober. Results lend tentative support for culturally competent treatment and include specific intervention recommendations for professionals, including social workers, chemical dependency counselors, and therapists.     

Go to Jail,Pay $200: Child Support Obligations of Incarcerated Parents

ABSTRACT

Non-collection of child support disproportionately affects poor women. To address this problem non-custodial incarcerated parents are a potential source of child support payments. It is calculated that 37, 820 custodial parents are owed approximately $122 million in child support by people in prison. A policy and legal analysis elucidates this issue.     

Building Local Democracy: The Role of Western Assistance in Poland

This article argues that foreign assistance, as an external force, has played an important role in shaping the local democracy-building process in Poland. The local context, which is omitted from the transition debate, is considered, and the influence that U.S. public donors exercised at the local scale is highlighted. The article claims that the delayed commitment on the part of these donors to local democracy and to the building of self-governing capacities and participatory practices has undermined the stability and effectiveness of the reforms in Poland. It is shown how this process took place through three different constructs: initial lack of direct assistance; the form under which this assistance was provided; and the donors' selectivity of recipients, both in terms of social groups and of geographic areas. It concludes by outlining areas where changes of assistance delivery should be made both by the donors and recipient communities.     

The Current State of Evaluation Practices in Employee Assistance Programs,San Francisco

This study assessed the current state of evaluation practices within Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Because of structural variation and previous design problems, an examination of EAPs was needed. The sample consisted of 34 EAPs, primarily drawn from the San Francisco ALMACA chapter. A Program Survey was sent to each EAP, which included a demographics and an evaluation section. This study found that 59% of the sample reported conducting program evaluation and another 20% planned future evaluations. The findings of this study suggest a trend toward an increasing awareness of the value of EAP evaluation; however, important issues still need to be addressed.     

Psychological Aggression by American Parents: National Data on Prevalence,Chronicity, and Severity

This article describes the prevalence of psychological aggression in a nationally representative sample of 991 parents. By child‐age 2, 90% reported using one or more forms of psychological aggression during the previous 12 months and 98% by age 5. From ages 6 to 17, the rates continued in the 90% range. The rate of severe psychological aggression was lower: 10%–20% for toddlers and about 50% for teenagers. Prevalence rates greater than 90% and the absence of differences according to child or family characteristics suggests that psychological aggression is a near universal disciplinary tactic of American parents. Finally, this article discusses the implications of the findings for the conceptualization of psychological “abuse,” and for understanding the origins of the high level of psychological aggression between intimate partners.     

The Needs of Gender-Variant Children and Their Parents: A Parent Survey

ABSTRACT

Parents of children with gender-variant behavior, while doing their best to handle their child's preferences and needs, are forced to contend with societal bias and assumptions that allow their children to be marginalized. This exploratory investigation aims to provide a basis for supporting all children with gender variance and their parents by identifying their needs. An Internet survey was designed to elicit the experiences of parents with gender-variant children to identify the needs of both parents and children. Data were analyzed using content analysis to establish the major themes. The dominant identified needs for parents were related to finding correct information and obtaining professional support, parenting strategies, and peer support. The children's primary needs were related to discussing their feelings, being accepted, and being supported to express their gender preference.     

Assistance to Aging Parents and Parents‐In‐Law: Does Lineage Affect Family Allocation Decisions?

In this analysis we used data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine how couples organize transfers of assistance to aging parents and whether the flow of assistance is structured by family lineage. We found evidence of a tradeoff between types of assistance and a unilineal pattern of assistance. Few couples provided both time and money, and few assisted parents and parents‐in‐law. The determinants of assistance varied by type of care, recipient, and patterns of parental survival. Couples were more responsive to the needs of the wife's parent(s) and were less likely to exclude her parents from care even under circumstances of competition. Controlling for resources, African American and Hispanic couples were consistently more likely to provide assistance.     

Chapter 5: Perspectives on the Integration of Employee Assistance and Work-Life Programs

SUMMARY

A recent qualitative study explored perceptions of critical issues and challenges from the point of view of experts and key informants working in diverse roles in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) field (Sharar & Hertenstein, 2005). One of the central themes that came out of the study is that EAPs have become a type of platform for the expansion of integrated collateral services, chiefly work-life (WL) programs. This paper presents a variety of perceptions and opinions from experts in the EAP field, both pro and con, on the growing convergence of EA and WL programs, including the rationale to integrate, segregate, and concerns regarding the diffusion of traditional and core EAPs. The paper concludes with the authors? perspectives on implications for the EA field, along with the need to find ways to measure if and when integration leads to employee and organizational improvement.     

Chapter 2: The Business Case for the Integration of Employee Assistance,Work-Life and Wellness Services

SUMMARY

Employee assistance programs (EAP), work-life programs and wellness programs are three commonly provided kinds of interventions that have the goals of reducing healthcare costs, improving employee performance and fostering a healthier workplace culture. The integration of these kinds of programs is a recent trend that has the potential to offer additional synergistic benefits. New studies have linked comprehensive delivery services that support human capital needs with bottom-line financial success of the company. This evidence can be used to make the business case for offering EAP, work-life and wellness services in an integrated capacity. However, while promising, the scientific evidence thus far in this area has methodological limitations and there are critical aspects that require further study.     

The distribution of a federal entitlement: The case of adoption assistance

Adoption assistance entitlements support children whose birth parents cannot care for them. The entitlements are meant to offset the extra cost to adoptive families of raising children whose early adverse experiences leave them with special needs. Unlike other Social Security Act programs, adoption assistance is not federally administered but is administered by states or localities. State-to-state variation in administration of this federal entitlement leads to unequal treatment of similar children. Moreover, although adoption assistance is an entitlement for children, payments made by many states are systematically correlated with the characteristics of adoptive families.     

Changes in Motivation for Adoption,Value Orientations and Behavior in Three Generations of Adoptive Parents

ABSTRACT

It is hypothesized that in this century a pattern of three generations of adoptive parents has developed: the traditional-closed generation, the open-idealistic, and the materialistic-realistic generation. These three generations differ considerably in motives and attitudes concerning adoption. Changes in the adoption field are connected with important changes in society. Adoption has lost its taboo character, domestic adoption is decreasing or has almost vanished (Scandinavia, The Netherlands) and interracial adoption has started. Several figures illustrating changes in adoption patterns during the period 1960–1995 support the hypothesis.     

Boundary-Spanning Demands,Personal Mastery,and Family Satisfaction: Individual and Crossover Effects Among Dual-Earner Parents

Grounded in ecological systems theory, this study modeled family satisfaction as a function of family-unfriendly work culture, work–family blurring, and personal mastery, examining both individual crossover effects. Analysis of data from 273 married dual-earner parents revealed that family-unfriendly work culture was negatively related to family satisfaction, whereas personal mastery was positively related to family satisfaction. Mothers' family-unfriendly work culture and work–family blurring were negatively related to their husbands' family satisfaction, but no parallel crossover findings were obtained for fathers, suggesting gender differences in crossover. Results were consistent with the notion that family life can be compromised by work cultures that create demands spanning both work and family domains. Implications for the management of work and family boundaries are discussed.     

Social Support to Parents‐in‐Law: The Interplay of Gender and Kin Hierarchies

Using data from a representative sample of middle‐aged married persons, we compare men's and women's contact and assistance to older parents‐in‐law and parents. Women have more visits and phone contact with their parents than do men, and men talk on the phone more with their in‐laws than do women. There are no gender differences in assistance patterns. Multivariate analysis shows that women contact and help parents more than in‐laws, whereas for men there are no such differences. There is little direct evidence that the presence of one set of parents affects relations with the other. Our findings suggest that although women clearly give priority to relations with their own parents, men experience pulls in both directions.     

Needs and Perceptions of LGBTQ Caregivers: The Challenges of Services and Support

Increasing attention has been paid to the lack of services and support afforded older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) women in same-sex relationships, including caregivers. This study was designed to investigate the needs and perceptions of LGBTQ women from ages 35 to 91, including informal caregivers and older adults regarding services and support from health care providers. Questionnaires were completed by older LGBTQ women (N = 76), and follow-up interviews were conducted with 25% of caregiver respondents. The majority of subjects indicated a fear of future challenges and discrimination. Four main themes emerged when analyzing the open-ended responses: the need for health care workers who were both supportive and knowledgeable about LGBTQ issues; better and consistent recognition of same-sex partners and their rights to make decisions as primary caregivers; increased sensitivity training regarding the needs of LGBTQ patients and caregivers; and more open and accepting environments where LGBTQ patients and caregivers could feel comfortable discussing issues with the staff.     

Parents and grandparents of deaf children in Ecuador: concerns and expectations

Despite a growing number of anthropological studies of deaf communities, little attention has been paid to how socioeconomic and cultural factors influence the experiences and the concerns of hearing parents of deaf and hearing-impaired (DHI) children. This study draws on interviews with parents (and some grandparents) of DHI children in Ecuador, a country marked by profound inequality but also by considerable recent progress in poverty reduction and enhanced provisions for people with disabilities. Despite progress, many carers are nevertheless critical of the way in which new measures have been implemented, and of the schooling available to their child. They are also worried by their child’s vulnerability, the likelihood of discrimination, and the possibility of abuse.     

The Effect of Parental Presence, Parents’ Education, and Household Headship on Adolescents’ Schooling and Work in Latin America

We investigate how the presence and education of parents affect adolescents’ school attendance, work participation, and school attainment in Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Panama. Across the four countries, approximately 20% of adolescents live in single-mother families and 4% in single-father families. Adolescents who live in single-mother families have significantly lower school attendance and attainment than adolescents who live with both parents. However, the effects of living in a single-mother family are small relative to the effects of parents’ education. Adolescents who live in single-mother families are not more likely to work than adolescents in two-parent families. Finally, targeting benefits to children in single-mother families would reach more children at risk of poor school outcomes than targeting children in female-headed households.Mary Arends-Kuenning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 408 Mumford Hall, MC-710, 1301 W. Gregory, Urbana, IL 61801; e-mail: marends@uiuc.edu.Suzanne Duryea, Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20577, USA; e-mail: suzanned@iadb.org.     

Lesbian and Gay Parents: Their Experiences of Children's Health Care in Australia

This study investigates the experiences of lesbian and gay parents seeking health care for their children within the Australian medical system. Previously unavailable demographic data was collected on lesbian and gay families, and qualitative information was sought from parents about positive or problematic health care experiences related to sexual orientation and family constellation. Ninety-two lesbian or gay parents responded to a national postal and Web-based survey. Eighty-nine percent of respondents reported a high level of satisfaction with the health care received by their children. Despite overall satisfaction, however, 49 percent of parents identified fear of disclosure of sexual orientation, and 27 percent reported negative or problematic experiences with their children's health care related to sexual orientation or family constellation. This study indicates that fear of discrimination and homophobic attitudes towards lesbian and gay families remain a factor within the Australian health care system.     

Principles of Total Quality Management and Their Application to Employee Assistance Programs:

Total quality management (TQM) has been thrust into the psyche of corporate America. TQM is not a new phenomena. Introduced in the early fifties to Japanese managers by an American management expert, it served to make Japan an international economic leader. U.S. companies have generally had little international competition. They now recognize he formidable challenge that quality based companies represent and are striving to replicate these successes. To do so will be to remain competitive. To discount the impact of TQM initiatives could spell economic disaster. Employee assistance program (EAP) management is modeled after American management principles. EAPs are also now having to compete for market share in ways for which they were never prepared. The TQM initiatives currently being implemented in many companies may be applied equally well to EAPs. This article presents an overview of the TQM principles formulated by W. Edwards Derning. The article also attempts to critically analyze some of the areas that have been problematic in EAP management. Further, it examines how TQM initiatives could serve to ameliorate some of these problems and lend additional impetus to the competitiveness of employee assistance programs with other behavioral health care service delivery and cost management programs.